A TALE ABOUT A TRILBY

I was sitting on a straw bale at Tiggy's barbeque talking briefly but amicably to anyone who came within range. After a while a blond haired lady came up with a camera and said, "I must take a photo." I was quite flattered. I am not usually the sort of person to be photographed for posterity. I began to feel that I was, indeed, and honoured guest. After a few minutes she was back again. "I must take another photograph," she said. I thought my moment had come! This lady was evidently an admirer - one of the few that I have had. Perhaps romance was in the offing. My euphoria was short lived. I think it was my friend DJ who said, "What's that snail doing on your trilby?" One of the younger element at the barbeque had taking advantage of the gloaming to place a snail on my trilby. It was crawling round and round leaving parallel slime trails to mark its progress. The blond beauty was not interested in me at all. She was taking photographs of the snail on my trilby. This was very deflating. We have all had experiences like this. A pretty girl waves and we wave back - but the pretty girl is not looking at us. We not only feel slightly foolish but also rather disappointed.

I have always felt ambivalent about the closing words in C.S.Lewis', 'A Grief Observed.' This is a little book written to record his reaction to his wife's death from cancer. He finishes by writing, How wicked it would be, if we could, call the dead back! She said not to me but to the chaplain, 'I am at peace with God.' She smiled, but not at me. As death closed in she smiled, but not at her husband. There is always Someone more important than us in the background.

It is a consolation that God's wave is always for us. He doesn't look over our shoulder at someone else. As Peter put it, You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1Pet2v9. How important can you get!

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